Once the various marchers have been lined up in their groups they are sent off across town to the assembly point and Macnas manager Dave Donovan leads the dog handlers to the other end of the boatsheds to awaken "Tiny" from his slumber. Tiny is a shaggy grey Irish wolfhound
of indeterminate age,

somewhat over thirty feet in length by my estimate. We stood ready, a team of thirteen handlers. Inside there would be three strong persons with over-the-shoulder, belted pole-holder harnesses, one to support the head, one for the middle body and one for the hind end of the hound. There would be four footmen, one for each paw. Initially it had been suggested that I might be a leg man, but I'm glad I dodged that task as it was more complicated than I thought as the leader had to coordinate so that the left foreleg and right hind leg moved together alternating with their opposite numbers. That was all too complicated for this puppeteer and I was happy to be one of six handlers controlling guylines running to either side from the head, middle, and tail.

Taking Tiny the Irish Wolfhound for Walkies Beside the Boatshed

This was needed to help the pole holders supporting the body to maintain a vertical aspect, not an easy task given the fierce wind that was blowing. It would be a disaster if this beast were to roll over onto the crowd. And imagine the size of the fleas! The guy handlers were all given gloves and I used my boy scout skills to tie a couple of bowline bights to use as grip handles in my line as the thin cord was hard to hold onto. When all was ready it was hoist up and haul away 'round the green by the river for a practice run, letting Tiny chase his tail and dash hither and yon.